TORONTO Justin Trudeau opened the floor up to questions from voters Thursday in his first town hall of the 2019 election campaign and the first since pictures of himself dressed in brownface and blackface were publicly released.

The event in Saskatoon had been advertised two days prior and billed as a partisan rally, and the crowd was friendly. A girl kicked things off by asking what it felt like to be prime minister.

But, quickly, the biggest scandal that has rocked this election inserted itself into the discussion.

A young brown man noted the Liberal leader had dodged questions earlier in the day about how many times hed worn blackface or brownface.

Ill make it easy, is it possible to round to the nearest five, he asked. Only a handful of people clapped. Someone yelled out: Yeah!

Trudeau said he wasnt going to make light of the situation.